This section provides the visitor with the content and background for the subjects in the petroglyphs, such as humans, animals, and plants. It also provides interpretations of complex scenes that incorporate many figures that together convey an event. The scenes mostly depict activities relating to hunting and warfare. In this section, the visitor will learn about the people who created the rock art of Saudi Arabia and their environment.
Subjects & Scenes
Examples:
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Ibex
The ibex is similar to the wild goat in terms of the shape of its head, body, and tail. Like the goat, it has scimitar horns that curve backward in a large semi-circle, but with the addition of a series of regularly spaced transverse ridges along the outer edge of the curve. Ancient artists depicted these ridges distinctly on the more realistic panels, however, where a caprine [...]
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Bezoar (Wild Goat)
The wild goat has long, scimitar-shaped horns that form a large semi-circle curving backward or spiral. The surface of the horns is relatively smooth or has small ripples, in contrast to the transverse ridges found on the ibex’s horns.
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Camel
The Dromedary camel can be easily identified because of the single hump on its back. It is also the largest of all camels, having longer limbs than the Bactrian, or two-humped, camel, C. bactrianus. The Dromedary is extremely well adapted to hot, arid conditions, and is capable of surviving up to 21 days without water. Dromedaries vary in color from nearly white, to tan, to [...]
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Date Palm
The trunk of the date palm is covered in upward-pointing, overlapping woody leaf bases.The palm leaf has a stout midrib that can reach 6 m (20 ft.) in length, with slender gray-green or bluish green pinnae, ranging from 20-40 cm (8-16 in) in length, emerging from it. Date palms produce inflorescences of up to 10,000 small, fragrant flowers (females are white, males are cream-colored [...]